The
Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation (ALEF), a
non-profit organization funded by foundations and companies,
supports and enables
young men and women from Appalachia to pursue higher education
though scholarship and leadership curriculum. The program
includes an emphasis toward the preparation
required to be the leaders of the next decade. The concept
of operations for ALEF is to partner with established academic
institutions across Appalachia to provide the technical skills
necessary as the basis for credible leadership.

The mission of ALEF is inclusive and fundamental:

To
recruit and educate young men and women who are academically
qualified, exhibit a strong work ethic and demonstrate
leadership qualities but would otherwise find college
unattainable.

To
develop the Fellows into skilled citizens and future leaders for Appalachia
and beyond.

To
develop leadership fellowships and leadership honors
programs that provide the opportunity for higher education
institutions to focus on character and leadership.

The
foundation will offer full-service opportunities to disadvantaged
youth of West Virginia. The core values of the foundation
are the same values that have been this nation’s foundation
for centuries:

To strive for character, leadership and technical excellence

To developer a sense of integrity in all matters

To put service before self and instill that value across all Fellows

ALEF offers recipients
an opportunity to join a fellowship, which includes a
scholarship and leadership/character development curriculum.
The fellowship requires applicants who find college financially
challenging to demonstrate a need. Applicants are also required to have scholarly credentials and achievements through
leadership, service and positive work ethic throughout their
public school years.

The concept of operations
will provide a focus beyond the technical skills achieved
at our universities and colleges; leadership and character
development will be practiced via leadership curricula, seminars
and guest lecturers who are credible leaders. Appalachia
is populated with young men and women who have the potential
to assume that mantle — to be the next round of national
and state leaders. The challenge, yours and mine together,
is to find those young men and women and ensure that they
have the opportunity, regardless of their social or economic
position, to be full-contact participants in this nation’s
role as the leader of the free world.

History

Robert Foglesong,
(retired) four-star general, native West Virginian and founder
of West Virginia’s esteemed Appalachian Leadership and Education
Foundation (ALEF), is an accomplished leader and seasoned
professional whose career in leadership has spanned nearly
33 years. His 33 - plus years in the United States Air
Force included extended work in leadership and character development,
education, training, and management in the United States and
Europe. His superb people skills and success in team-building
promise a strong, successful leader for the ALEF organization.
In regard to his early foundation General Foglesong stated,
“Character firstis
the top core value in the organization I have served for the
past 33 years, a fundamental value my parents taught me when
I was a young boy in rural Appalachia and caring teachers
and mentors reinforced every day at school and in my community.”Program

ALEF
provides academic and financial support to talented young
men and women who display academic and leadership abilities.
ALEF fellows are selected from West Virginia high schools
as promising achievers in the classroom and the community.
ALEF partners with universities and provides academic counseling,
retention services and scholarships to talented fellows chosen
based on demonstrated need. More detailed information about
the selection process can be found by clicking on the apply
tab located above.